Harnessing the Power of Plants

Kajol Sethia 

Named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2024 and the Outstanding Activist Award in 2019 by PETA Asia, Kajol Sethia is a vegan by choice and an entrepreneur who is rapidly expanding her offering of cruelty-free products. Her Vegan Group and its subsidiaries Vegan Dairy Nepal and Makalu Food & Beverages is fast gaining momentum in the market with their range of products. 

Her products derive from innovations in the science of absorbing nutrients from plant-based products, cultivating raw materials at the source, and developments in understanding the body’s needs and ways to meet them. The range of products are locally sourced and available nationwide, all carefully curated to supplement human nutrition.

Shelves in supermarkets worldwide stock dairy alternatives with a long shelf-life catering to vegan or lactose intolerant consumers. Likewise, Nepali retailers nowadays offer far more alternatives to dairy than actual dairy products at prime locations. Vegan Dairy Nepal, under the leadership of Babita Sethia, Kajol’s mother, offers an extensive array of plant-based products. Their current selection includes milk alternatives crafted from almond, oat, millet, coconut, and soy; a diverse range of nut butters; protein powder and energy bars; vegan cheese; and condiments. The company is also quickly expanding its offerings to include various vegan vitamins and supplements. Kajol Sethia, meanwhile, specialises in figuring out routing, packaging design, production matrices, licensing, among her other duties as founder of the Vegan Group. 

Creating plant-based alternatives to people’s groceries while not skimping on quality is challenging, reveals Sethia. Research on maximising the body’s absorption of nutrients derived from plant-based sources is ongoing, and Sethia closely follows each new breakthrough in science to keep optimising her product. Initially, she imported select raw materials from the USA where the Food and Drug Administration is responsible for upholding all consumer products to health and safety standards. Over the years, she has shifted to sourcing materials from India, and recently, after a sizable investment, Sethia manufactures products that incorporate ingredients grown in Nepal while prioritising organic farming when acquiring local raw materials.   

“Our products are for the future,” says Sethia. “Our new chickpea and shilajit protein powder deliver 25 gm of iron and 10 gm of protein with every scoop. Every serving negates the need for additional iron supplements meeting 55% of daily requirements. As people age and start to lose muscle mass, our clean vegan protein infused with shilajit delivers energy and aids in muscle retention. Except kids, it is suitable for most people, even those that don’t work out.” Shilajit is a natural substance that takes centuries to form and can be found in Nepal’s Himalayan region. This protein powder is manufactured locally with Nepali ingredients.

On the marketing end, Sethia takes the lead in curating packaging design to reflect the quality of the product within. “Sometimes we delay a product hitting the market because we have not finalised its design,” she informs. On supermarket shelves, Sethia’s brand competes with products imported from abroad and subtle innovations are a necessity. Despite the government not requiring specific labelling for vegan products, Sethia has proactively included a small yet prominent vegan logo on all her product packaging. This allows customers to easily identify products aligning with their dietary needs without needing to scrutinise the ingredient list. After years of refinement, Vegan Groups’ products have developed a recognisable brand identity under her leadership. 

Visibly, the new Makalu brand of Nepali spices, under Vegan Group, is available in premium containers that would not look out of place in any high-end market in the world. To supply the spice, Sethia is exploring inventive agricultural methods. Using hydroponics, i.e. growing plants without soil using water-based mineral nutrient solutions, different crops are being cultivated and the efficacy of this technique may soon supply another range of Makalu products. 

Sethia’s adventurous streak takes her to remote locations in Nepal where she has seen firsthand the viability and range of in-demand products growing in different ecosystems. On one such trek, she saw locals selling the rare sea buckthorn berry.

“I knew about sea buckthorn when designing our clean collagen pills because it was listed as a major ingredient. I did not know it grew naturally in the Tibetan plateau. And there, in the mountains, at an elevation of 3500-4500 m, this berry that is a major source of plant-based collagen was available, here, in Nepal,”

Collagen supplements make the skin supple, enhances hair and nails, and improves joint health in the long run. However, collagen is derived primarily from cartilage and bones of cows, pigs, chickens and fish. The sea buckthorn berry is a rare source of collagen that is effectively absorbed by the human body and free from animal byproducts. Sethia now sources sea buckthorn from this region to create juice concentrate sold by the litre. 

Nowadays, traditional collagen supplements are trendy, previously known by names like fish oil tablets or powdered bone that were unavailable to vegan consumers. Sethia has sourced a plant-based alternative that grows in Nepal, and converted that to a lucrative product for local and international markets. The product supplies nutrients to people previously unable to partake, who are now reporting on the results of collagen intake from vegan sources. “The first sip of sea buckthorn juice is extremely sour but by the third you are hooked,” she says. In addition to supplying collagen, the sea buckthorn berry is also a source of Omega-3, 6, 7 and 9, that can help in stem cell regeneration, and is an antioxidant, and an excellent source of Vitamin C.
To make plant-based products a viable option in the Nepali market, Sethia has set her sights on adopting practices that allow her products to match the price of the dairy industry. While establishing manufacturing in Nepal necessitated substantial investment, the products now reach consumers unburdened by the 65% customs duty typically imposed on imports.

Similar constraints apply when sourcing local ingredients.

“Our competition is industries that use animals and their byproducts. I want to see vegan products used in houses and people embracing plant-based alternatives,”

Sethia’s Vegan Group, its subsidiaries Vegan Dairy Nepal and Makalu Food & Beverages, represent the quality of ingredients that Nepal has to offer. In local and international markets, the brand supplies products that are in-demand, cruelty free and locally produced. Vegan Group is an ethical company committed to supplying plant-based alternatives of household necessities.